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Grizzlee Martin, the man building Foxtail Coffee shops throughout the Southeast, is just as comfortable photographing the Foo Fighters as he is inspecting espresso machines. His skill set is about as wide as the vast array of clients who have appeared in his camera viewfinder over the years. Boyz II Men, Paramore, Post Malone, and the aforementioned Foos are just a few of the musical artists he’s shot. His many clients have included Esquire, Mercedes, and Instagram.
But when one of his best friends of 27 years, Alex Tchekmeian launched Foxtail Coffee in 2016, the timing aligned perfectly with Martin relocating back to his Florida roots from Los Angeles.
“Alex had opened his third Foxtail in 2018, and they really needed someone to come in and help roll out their new kitchen program,” Martin remembers. “I had run and worked in kitchens growing up, but swore I’d never do it again, so I figured I’d give it a couple weeks and be on my way.”
The trainings went well, and Martin got another call from his friend. Foxtail had lost its project manager. Would Martin be interested in tackling the role?
“I said, ‘Alex, we both know I don’t know a thing about construction,’” he says, laughing. “I would have to call people to help me fix my own house if it was anything more than a lightbulb.” But Tchekmeian knew his friend better than that.
Martin was brought into an empty store space and asked what he would do. The bond between the friends was so strong, a connection built playing music and working together building different businesses in their younger years, that Martin knew exactly what kind of environment Tchekmeian would be excited about.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but the fact that I knew my friend so well meant that he could trust me to make decisions,” Martin says. “So I told him I’d figure it out.”
It’s important to underline just how steep Martin’s learning curve would be. He began reviewing construction plans and designs but admits other than seeing an espresso machine or refrigerator, most of the symbols and shorthand read as pure gibberish.
Martin says that over time, he’s relied on general contractors willing to share their knowledge with an eager pupil. It also didn’t hurt that he was willing to disassemble and reassemble anything at the drop of a hat, wanting to learn on the job as much as he could without disrupting building around him.
“We were building so aggressively that I actually took on maintenance duties for our shops,” Martin explains. “It helped me learn a lot and get my hands dirty. If we could spend $15 on a piece of plumbing instead of $300 on a plumber, I was going to figure it out.”
But that still doesn’t explain Martin’s first build, a project that should have gone horribly wrong given his relative inexperience and readily admitted need to learn by failing.
Martin’s first full construction project, a converted gas station in Orlando’s Hourglass District, landed Foxtail in Architectural Digest. Imagine deciding to learn to play the guitar, and your first public performance nets a sparking profile from Rolling Stone. Whatever Martin lacked in institutional knowledge, he made up for it with hard work, impeccable style, and an immense capacity for building out a new area of expertise.
That was 46 stores ago. Foxtail had just rolled out its fiftieth location at the time of speaking in May 2023, with 12 more currently under construction and 10 in the pre-construction phase.
Foxtail’s model includes partnering with local Orlando brands in many of their store locations, including Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream, Ravenous Pig Brewing, and even Martin’s wife’s vegan restaurant, Leguminati. If the bond between Tchekmeian and Martin wasn’t strong enough, it’s worth noting that the former introduced the latter to his future wife.
At present, Martin’s schedule is packed full. He’s at every Foxtail opening and, at its current pace, attending those openings might be a full-time job in-and-of-itself. As Foxtail continues its expansion out of Florida, Martin will be there. And should a client need a magazine-worthy photo in the meantime, his camera is never too far away.
Stone Savvy has been proudly serving the Orlando area since 2012. Our commitment is to provide quality products along with efficient and timely delivery. Whether your project is covering a single counter or an office building, we’re here to help! We congratulate Grizzlee Martin on his recognition by American Builders Quarterly and look forward to continued partnership with Foxtail Coffee.
